FBI Announces $5,000 Reward for Series of South Florida Armed Robberies

The FBI announces a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual responsible for a series of 11 armed robberies in South Florida over the past few months.

In each of the armed robberies, the robber enters the business armed with a handgun and demands money from an employee.

The robberies include:

Date/Time: May 12, 2012, at 11:04 p.m.

Location: Kwik Stop, 17200 West Dixie Highway

Date/Time: June 23, 2012, at 10:55 p.m.

Location: Shell Gas Station, 1420 East Sunrise Blvd

Date/Time: July 1, 2012, at 10:41 p.m.

Location: Petrolio Gas Station, 1554 South Federal Highway

Date/Time: July 13, 2012, at 12:18 a.m.

Location: Kwik Stop, 18198 NE 19th Avenue

Date/Time: July 15, 2012, at 9:45 p.m.

Location: Chevron Gas Station, 13005 Biscayne Blvd

Date/Time: August 3, 2012, at 9:40 p.m.

Location: Marina Discount Beverage, 2705 SW 15th Avenue

Date/Time: August 6, 2012, at 1:05 a.m.

Location: Chevron Gas Station, 4051 Stirling Road

Date/Time: August 14, 2012, at 4:26 p.m.

Location: Citgo Gas Station, 15200 Biscayne Blvd

Date/Time: August 15, 2012, at 7:00 a.m.

Location: Badoma Plaza, 1989 NE 19th Avenue

Date/Time: August 18, 2012, at 11:59 p.m.

Location: Kwik Stop, 18198 NE 19 Avenue

Date/Time: August 22, 2012, at 12:58 a.m.

Location: Citgo Gas Station, 2109 Griffin Road

Photos from the robberies are below.

The FBI, Broward Sheriff’s Office, North Miami Beach Police Department, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, North Miami Police Department, and the South Florida Violent Crime Task Force continue their investigation. The FBI and its South Florida Violent Crime Task Force are involved in this matter as part of an initiative to assist local law enforcement agencies combat violent armed robberies.

Anyone with information as to the identity of this suspect is urged to call the FBI at (305) 944-9101 or Crimestoppers.

School Teacher Arrested and Charged for Enticing a Minor to Engage in Sexual Acts

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Addy M. Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, (FDLE), Miami Field Division; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Chadwick Wagner, Chief, Hollywood Police Department; Al Lamberti, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office; and Franklin Adderley, Chief, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, announce today’s filing of a complaint following the June 16, 2012 arrest of Thomas Patrick Keelan, 54, of Roanoke, Virginia, on charges resulting from an FDLE-led investigation into allegations that Keelan attempted to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and that he traveled in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor. Keelan made his initial appearance in federal court today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman.

According to the criminal complaint, between 2009 and 2010, Keelan was a teacher at a private school in Miami-Dade County. While at the school, Keelan began to have a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. According to the criminal complaint, over the next two years, Keelan had sex with the minor approximately 60 times.

The complaint further alleges that in the fall of 2010, Keelan accepted a job as the head of the English department at a private school in Roanoke, Virginia. In May 2012, the Miami-Dade victim, then 17 years old, began cooperating with law enforcement and placed several phone calls to Keelan. In these calls, Keelan expressed his love for the minor victim and, in one call, masturbated while on the phone with the victim. By the end of the call, Keelan had told the victim that he wanted to travel down to Miami to have sex with the victim again. In a subsequent call, Keelan told the victim that he would meet the victim at the same hotel in Hollywood, Florida where he and the victim had sex before.

On May 28, 2012, the complaint alleges, Keelan reserved a room at a Hollywood hotel for seven days, beginning June 16, 2012. On June 1, 2012, Keelan told the victim that he planned to leave Virginia by car on June 15, 2012 and arrive in South Florida on June 16, 2012. According to the complaint, on June 16, 2012, Keelan arrived at the Hollywood hotel, parked his car in the hotel parking lot, and entered the lobby. Keelan was arrested when he entered the hotel.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FDLE and FBI. Mr. Ferrer would also like to thank the Hollywood Police Department, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roy K. Altman.

Former Police Officer Sentenced for Wire Fraud

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Franklin Adderley, Chief of Police, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, announced that David Michael McElligott, 47, of Warner Robins, Georgia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra to 21 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by two years’ supervised release, for his fraudulent scheme to defraud the city of Fort Lauderdale. Earlier this year, McElligott pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1343, in connection with the scheme.

According to court documents, McElligott worked as a Fort Lauderdale police officer from 1991 through his resignation late last year. Since 2001, he had been on extended military leave from the U.S. Air Force. Beginning in September 2003, McElligott would present the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the city of Fort Lauderdale with falsified military leave and earnings statements in order to increase the supplemental pay that the city of Fort Lauderdale gave him pursuant to its supplemental pay policy. McElligott also presented the police department and the city with fraudulent military orders, which entitled him to certain rights under federal law to maintain and return to his job as a police officer. McElligott sent all of the falsified documents by facsimile, e-mail, or both to an employee in the payroll department of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. McElligott’s fraudulent conduct resulted in a loss to the city of Fort Lauderdale of $312,270.65. This included supplemental pay, longevity pay, and benefits. At the sentencing hearing, in addition to imposing imprisonment and supervised release terms, the judge ordered McElligott to pay restitution to the city in the amount of $197,205.70, which was the balance of the city’s total loss not already repaid by McElligott.

This investigation began as a result of information discovered by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department during an internal review. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department immediately contacted the FBI Public Corruption Task Force and continued to assist in the investigation that resulted in today’s charges.

Mr. Ferrer commends the efforts of the FBI’s Public Corruption squad and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, which is part of the Broward County Public Corruption Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard P. Murad.

FBI Announces the Arrest of an Individual Wanted in Connection with the Robberies of Bank of America and TD Bank

John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI Miami Field Office, announces the arrest last night of Richard Bystricky, 49, of Cleveland, Ohio, in connection with the robberies of the Bank of America, 2300 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale on 02/10/2012 and TD Bank, 2301 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton on 02/24/2012.

The arrest was made at approximately 6:00 pm yesterday (2/25/2012) without incident in Hollywood, Florida, by members of the South Florida Violent Crime/Fugitive Task Force and the Hollywood Police Department.

The individual arrested is expected to face federal charges. It is anticipated that he will have his initial appearance in Federal Court Monday (2/27/2012) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The FBI, Boca Raton Police Department, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the South Florida Violent Crime/Fugitive Task Force continue their investigation.

The FBI continues to seek other suspects and persons of interest in connection with this crime. Anyone with information should call the FBI in Miami at (305) 944-9101.

SAC Gillies would like to thank the public for their assistance in the matter.

Rawls, Barlow and Bartlett

April 23, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three law enforcement officials from Florida.

Neal Rawls was a sergeant with the Delray Police Department (Florida). Neal Rawls received 14 commendations, led a tactical unit for in-progress crimes, was civil defense liaison for his department, and Public Information Officer. Additionally, Neal Rawls was an instructor at the Palm Beach County Police Academy and Palm Beach Community College, teaching firearms; pursuit and defensive driving; surveillance; arrest, search and seizure; and the use of personal defensive weapons.

Neal Rawls holds a BA in criminology and a Master's Criminal Justice. In 1981, Neal Rawls went into private industry as a personal bodyguard for a corporate executive. He was promoted to director of security for the corporation, charged with designing and developing security protocols for company offices worldwide. Neal Rawls is the author of Be Alert, Be Aware, Have a Plan: The Complete Guide to Personal Security.

David Barlow began his criminal justice career as a correctional officer in South Carolina. In 1981, he became a deputy sheriff for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (South Carolina). In 1983, he joined the Florida State University Police Department as a Law Enforcement Officer I. In 1987, David Barlow left the practitioner side of the field and began to pursue an academic career, beginning as a instructor of criminal justice at the South Carolina State College. Today, he is a professor and dean, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, Fayetteville State University.

David Barlow has a BS in the Administration of Justice and Sociology, an MS in Criminology and a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice. David Barlow is the co-author of Police in America: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Police in a Multicultural Society: An American Story, and Classics in Policing.

Derrick Bartlett is a sniper and trainer on the Fort Lauderdale Police Department SWAT Team. He has been a police officer for over twenty-five years. Twenty-two of those years he has been assigned to special operations teams. He is also the Managing Director of Snipercraft, Inc., which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and enhancement to police sniper skills. He has held sniper seminars and schools for more than 500 police agencies nationwide. Derrick Bartlett is the author of Snipercraft: The Art of Police Sniping and Staring at the Crosshairs.

Richard Morey, Coordinator, Law Enforcement Programs, SFCC Criminal Justice Academy said of Staring at the Crosshairs, “Derrick’s contributions prove how one person can make a difference. He has made a difference, and, perhaps more importantly, he has instilled in others the desire to make a difference. He is passionate about training, and it shows in his teaching, and through his guidance. Today, snipers are a stronger community because of people like Derrick Bartlett. Derrick has put the word “sniper” back in our job description, and we can be proud.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 990 police officers (representing 415 police departments) and their 2096 police books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.